Never Doubt Your Worst Nightmare
by Rahar Moonfire
Summary: The Prince and Princess of Evil were feared even by Dark Spectre's army. But after the battle at KO-35, the Prince vanished leaving Astronema to rule alone. The new Space Rangers follow Zhane but wonder who the new Red Ranger is and why everything is classified. Are some secrets better left secret?
1. Chapter 1

All my life, I've only ever known one thing. Hate. Always hate. Hate is my defense against pain. Hate is what drives me through life. Hate is what gives me power. Hate is what makes me strong. Hate is who I am. Who I always have been. And who I always will be.

I am hate. It's the only emotion I'm comfortable with. I can't think of a good reason to let go of it.

I hate good. All those goody little two-shoes running around in skin tight suits all brightly colored like some demented rainbow. They're all words and no actions. They fight for things like love and friendship.

HA!

If they only knew how weak those so called bonds actually were then maybe they'd hate just like me. Then maybe they'd actually be a decent enemy. But they don't. They cling to each other like they're the last people in the universe. Hmph, they might as well be.

Stupid Rangers. All bluff and bluster. They can fight individual battles, but they're useless when defending an entire planet. After all, KO-35 was easily destroyed. That silly Silver Ranger. Did he honestly think he could take down my and my sister's entire army alone? Fool!

My sister and I fooled him ever so easily. All it took was a few words, and a so-called bond of friendship and he was putty in our hands. I laughed at him as I attacked him. I laughed into his masked face. I laughed as I blasted him. I laughed!

So why do I feel so horrible? Why do I feel so ugly and dirty? I've never felt this way before. When I heard he'd somehow survived and managed to escape on the Astro Megaship, I couldn't help but feel…relieved? I felt relieved that my enemy had escaped? Why?

I hate him! I HATE him! So why?

No one knows of my feelings except me. Who would I tell? Ecliptor would sooner lecture me on the qualities of evil and how it dominates all good. Dark Spectre…I'd rather die than tell him of this weakness. The quantrons aren't really good for anything but foot soldiers. There's a good reason why there's no quantron in command. And the monsters that are at by beck and call, they only think of inflicting pain and death upon the enemy I choose.

That leaves my sister. Astronema would understand. She would understand my doubts, though she'd probably lecture me later. But there was absolutely _no one_ I could tell about the secret of the red morpher. How it responded to me. I hate the Rangers, dammit! Why would the morpher choose me as a Ranger? I'm their enemy!

And yet with all of this, why do I feel like I'm missing something? Why do I feel like I've let myself down? I hate this feeling. I HATE it!

And so I set out to conquer this weakness with my hate that burns so hotly. Nurtured like a blacksmith's fire. It burns low and slowly, and all the hotter for it. I will burn that stupid Silver Ranger with this hot blue flame at the heart of my hate. And I will laugh.

I will laugh!

…

So why do I feel so horrible? And why am I so cold?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Zhane fought hard, but he was no match for the overwhelming number of quantrons. He hadn't heard a thing from the other rangers so he had no idea how they were faring, though he could guess given his own circumstances. Only Andros remained within his sights standing nearby.

Wait, standing?

"Andros, come on! Give me a hand!" he called.

The red ranger turned to face him slowly, almost casually before staring at him for a moment. Then he threw his helmeted head back and laughed. Laughed! Andros laughed.

"Andros? Wha-what?"

"Ah, Zhane. I can't tell you how amusing this is," came Andros' voice from within the red helmet. Zhane heard warning bells clanging loudly in his head when Andros de-morphed and smirked at him.

Moments later, a blaze of purple light revealed a beautiful woman with pale purple hair hanging in long curls around her shoulders. Black lipstick lined her soft, full lips and her slim perfect body was sheathed in a black leather suit that accentuated her every curve. Even in the heat of battle, Zhane couldn't help but admire her beauty. Until he saw Andros stride calmly over to the woman, lift her hand to his lips, and place a soft kiss on her knuckles drawing a contented smile from the recipient.

"Silver Ranger," Andros called, his eyes cold and empty of everything but hatred, "I'd like to introduce you to Astronema, my sister and Princess of Evil." Cold hazel eyes twinkled as Zhane stood there in shock.

"I've taken care of the other rangers, Dark Prince," the beauty said in a powerful voice that command attention. "Leave this one to the quantrons and come with me. Dark Spectre may have finally found Zordon."

The Dark Prince narrowed his eyes, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Good. Maybe we can get there first. I think Empress of Evil would suit you much better than that ridiculous prima donna and her fish-face friends."

"Wait," Zhane called. Andros ignored him and accompanied his sister through the rubble. Only now did Zhane notice how the quantrons avoided him. "Wait," he called louder to be heard over the din. "What about the mor-"

The last thing he saw was the Dark Prince whirling on him and blasting him with energy, fury and fear in his eyes, then he woke up. Of course, he had to wake up just as he was falling off the bed onto the floor. The force of the impact jarred his shoulder. There would definitely be a bruise there later on. Groaning, the silver Astro ranger untangled himself from the blanket and got to his feet.

The digital clock read 5:30 in the morning. Another inadvertent early morning. It was always like that. Every time he dreamed of that day on KO-35 he would wake up early without fail. A part of him ached at the betrayal of his friend, or the person whom he thought was his friend and demanded vengeance. But another part of him recognized the fear in those hazel eyes just before their owner blasted him; just before he said the word "morpher."

The morpher itself was another dilemma. The Power would never deliberately choose a person with a truly evil heart to become the holder of a morpher, especially the Red morpher. But if that was true, and he had to believe it was, then why did the Power not reject the Dark Prince? It was because of him that Zhane had accepted the Silver morpher to begin with. He never would have dreamed that Andros, the person he thought of as his best friend, was the Dark Prince and would turn on him. Just the thought of it hurt, the memory of it burned.

But the fear reflected in those hazel eyes was the same fear he saw gleaming brightly the day the Dark Prince took the shot meant for him. Why had the Dark Prince protected him against Darkonda's attack? If he truly was evil as he claimed, as all the evidence suggested, then why did he protect a Power Ranger? That question was the only thing that kept him from leaving the crumbled Prince on the ground where he fell. It was the only reason he saved him.

Well, that and he saw the Red morpher on the ground nearby. The Dark Prince had kept it and that had to mean something. Those two incidents combined were what forced his hand. There was no way a true Ranger would leave a potential fellow alone with the enemy in such a situation.

Zhane ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair in exhaustion when voices reached him. Why in the world would anyone be up at this hour? Excluding himself of course. He poked his head into the mess hall curiously and saw Carlos and TJ talking.

"What are you two here for?" he asked.

Both Rangers looked up and grinned sheepishly.

"Hungry," TJ shrugged. "Wunna join us?"

And that was how to other Rangers found them later that morning.

"Hey guys," Ashley chirped, ever happy. "Ready to dig up some plants?"

Zhane groaned. "I'm not exactly known for my, uh," he waved his hand as he searched for the right phrase, "what's that phrase you Earthlings use? Green finger?"

"Green thumb," Cassie answered laughing. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can find something for you to do."

"Yeah," Carlos added. "Dirt is brown after all. I bet you can dig."

Zhane whined and looked at TJ for support. The Blue raised his hands in mocked affront. "Don't look at me. I know better than to try to get out of work."

* * *

><p>The planet they were currently on was dusty and brown with the occasional plant life. Most of the green were cacti or other succulent type plants. Judging by the current heat and dry wind the Rangers felt burning their skin, it made sense why there was so little. It looked completely harmless, so naturally it was not.<p>

The group was not gone more than three hours before they were racing back onto the Megaship with these strange, featureless creatures chasing them. Not the best way to start a new day.

"DECA get us outta here!" Zhane called to the Megaship A.I. When the group reached the bridge, Zhane took the controls and tried to fly the ship but for some reason the ship's response was sluggish.

"Damage report!" TJ commanded.

"Electrical malfunctions on Megadecks 4, 6, and 2," she responded. "Stablizers offline. Accelerators overheating."

"That explains the slow response," Zhane muttered. "Cassie, Carlos, Ashley get to the engine room. See if you can figure out how to fix it. TJ help control the ship."

TJ grabbed the nearest control lever and pulled. "Got it."

Together the two friends fought the controls and were able to wrangle the heavy ship into a somewhat stable flight path. It was not easy. How Andros managed to fly the Astro Megaship all by himself for the short time he had access to it was remarkable. Then there was rumble that grew to a roar and it felt like the ship received a punch from below.

"Thrusters back online," DECA announced in a deceptively calm voice.

"DECA, how are the others?"

"They are unharmed."

Both Zhane and TJ gave a sigh of relief. "Had me goin' there for a minute," TJ said. Once they worked the ship into a steady, level flight path, TJ flipped the switch to autopilot and sat back in his chair. "That was a little too close for comfort. Any idea what those thing were?"

"Nope. No idea, although I'm going with creepy-flaily-things at the moment."

TJ tilted his head back and laughed. "I like that. I gotta admit, hearing Earth slang from you is kinda hilarious."

"Really?" Zhane preened. "Thanks. I try." A joined his Blue in laughter before standing. "Come on, let's go check on the others."

* * *

><p>The engine room door slid open and just as Carlos was about to walk out, TJ appeared in front of him. "Woah," he cried when they almost walked into each other. "Easy bro, the fire's out."<p>

"Aw, but I wanted to be the hero fireman," TJ mocked.

"Fireman?" Zhane chimed in curiously.

Cassie flipped her hair over her shoulder so it was out of her face. "A fireman is a person who puts out fires and rescues people."

The Silver Ranger nodded and noticed a soft glow coming from a dark corner of the room. Immediately, his heart fell and he felt clammy. Did anyone else see it? Should he should them or should he not? It would probably be best if-

"Zhane? Zhane!"

"What?" he blurted, jolted from his thoughts. "What, sorry what?"

Ashley was looking at him oddly. "Are you okay?"

She began to turn as if to follow his line of sight and however much Zhane did not like hiding things from his teammates, some things were better left hidden, at least for now. "Yeah," he said quickly, drawing his Yellow's attention back on himself and away from the door. "Sorry just a little adrenaline rush. You know."

He grinned and though it was obvious she did not believe his story, at least she was willing to let it rest. He rushed his fellow Rangers out of the engine room and, after casting one last glance over his shoulder at the door that should not be open, followed. He kept his strides slower than the others until finally pausing in front of one of DECA's many eyes.

"Is he alright?" he asked her quietly.

She did not reply right away which sent thrills of nervous energy racing up his spine. When her voice finally came, it was soft. "All systems are normal."

"Is that a yes?" Zhane pressed.

"Affirmative."

The Silver let out a deep breath he had known he had been holding and ran a hand through his hair. "Good. Thanks. If the others ask, tell them I'll be on the bridge."

"Affirmative. Will you be on the bridge?" she asked. Zhane gave her a look as he turned on his heel and returned to the bridge. "I will inform you if anyone enters the room."

* * *

><p>It was Ashley who first noticed Zhane was no longer with the group. "Hey, anyone notice where Zhane went?" The others seemed just as surprised as she was so she turned the question to DECA. "DECA, where'd Zhane go?"<p>

"Zhane is on the bridge."

"Oh, well why didn't he say so?"

Cassie shrugged. "Maybe he forgot something."

"Maybe," Ashley said.

"You don't seem so sure. What's up Ash?" TJ asked.

The Astro Yellow shook her head. "It's probably nothing. I'll go check the bridge then meet you in the mess hall."

Carlos watched her leave with curious eyes. His own senses were tingling, something was not right. "Hey, I think I'll go with her. Meet up with you later." He did not bother to wait for his friends' to confirm they heard him, instead he ran off down the hall after Ashley.

* * *

><p><em>Cold.<em>

That was the first fully formed thought he had in what felt like a long time. There was something niggling at him, some cold, something evil. It was close, so close he could almost taste it. It called to him. If only he could warm up and open his eyes.

Open his eyes.

Was this a dream?

He had to wake up.

Sister.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sorry about the delay in updating. College is hateful, so is summer school. I promise to update sooner from now on.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Back by popular demand. From here on out, I'll tend to have longer chapters with around 3,000 words on average. My writing style has grown and changed since I started this but now I have a clearer idea of where to go with this fic. My fic _Shadow Relations_ does come first, but I promise to give this fic attention as well.

**Chapter summary: **In which all Rangers have secrets, a monster attacks, and a sleeper awakes.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Ashley waited for Carlos to catch up before heading to the bridge. She was slightly surprised to see Zhane hunched over a Kerovan keyboard typing away as if his life depended on it. Carlos stepped up beside her curiously, neither saying a word.

"Alright, try that," Zhane called.

There was a high pitched ringing which faded quickly back into silence. "Sequence confirmed," DECA intoned.

Zhane heaved a sighed and leaned back into his chair, running his hands down in face. He looked exhausted. His uniform was wrinkled, his hair was disheveled, and and he looked like he very much wanted to sink into the chair and sleep.

"You can take a break, you know," Ashley said with a smile.

Zhane bolted upright, practically leaping from his chair in surprise. Ice blue eyes stared at the newcomers in surprise. He quickly recovered, shaking his head with a broad smile and placing a hand over his heart theatrically.

"If I knew you wanted to visit me at such hours, fair maiden, dear sir," he added to Carlos who was struggling to keep a straight face, "I would have put on my..." He paused, snapping his fingers as he tried to remember something. "Um, what's that phrase you use, oh! I would have adorned my Sunday best."

"To be perfectly honest," Carlos teased, "I doubt you have anything worthy of Sunday best."

Zhane widened his eyes and gasped loudly. "Why Carlos, you do me a disservice."

"I'm not paying you, so I hardly see how it's a disservice," Carlos teased.

The Silver Astro Ranger held up a finger to argue before shrugging. "Point," he conceded.

"Relax, would you?" Carlos said, coming up to his friend and smacking jovially on the back. "We're not out to get you."

"Yeah," Ashley said, coming up next to Carlos. "Why would we be out to get you? You haven't pulled any pranks yet."

Zhane sulked and rolled his eyes. "Nice to know you have my back," he grumbled.

The Rangers laughed before Ashley sobered. "Hey," she asked softly. "You okay? You seem a little...on edge."

"I'm fine," Zhane said reassuringly. "Just a bit tired. And I have a headache," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm not particularly adapted to heat like what was on that planet."

Zhane was not lying, of that Ashley was certain. But he was not telling the whole truth either. She sighed in disappointment but decided not to push. Everyone had their secrets and Zhane was no exception. The former Turbo Rangers knew Zhane had seen and experienced things they could not even begin to imagine. Every Ranger had that handful of experiences they would rather not talk about. It came with the job.

Carlos chuckled. "Then why don't you come with us. We can get something cool to eat and then go back to work. You haven't had frozen yogurt yet have you?" he asked.

Zhane crinkled his forehead in confusion. "Why would you eat something that's frozen?" he asked.

Carlos laughed and tugged the Kerovan Ranger out of the bridge with Ashley's help. "It's not frozen. Or, maybe it is but it's not." Zhane eyed him in a way that made Carlos feel distinctly like the Silver was attempting to determine his sanity. "It sounds confusing but it's really not."

"Look," Ashley said, "just try it and if you don't like it, no harm done."

"And if I do like it?" Zhane asked, a cheeky smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye.

"Then," Ashley replied, "we can have froyo parties. Cassie would jump at the chance."

"Oh yeah she would," Carlos agreed as the megalift door hissed open. "She _loves_ the stuff."

"Who loves what?" Cassie asked, stepping out of the megalift.

"Frozen yogurt," Ashley said. "We're trying to convince Zhane to try it."

"Really?" Cassie planted her fists on her hips and eyed Zhane appraisingly. "I bet I could eat more than you," she challenged.

Zhane perked up. "Is that a challenge I hear?"

"I don't know, is it?" Cassie shot back, keeping a perfect poker face.

Zhane considered for a moment before grinning and holding out a hand. "Accepted," he said. "It ill be an honor to defeat you."

"We'll see about that," Cassie said, shaking Zhane's hand graciously before sweeping past the group with her head held high.

"Where you going, Cassie?" Ashley called.

"To get the sample we got from the planet," she replied. "TJ left it in the hanger bay by accident."

"Want company?" Carlos asked.

"Naw, I got it," she replied. "Thanks though."

"No worries."

When the megalift door hissed shut on her friends, Cassie continued down the hall past the bridge to the hanger bay doors. It was not the main hanger bay but it did have an air lock and a few control panels. Just behind the closest control panel was TJ's backpack. The specimen, however, was no longer inside the backpack but lying in pieces on the floor. It looked like it had cracked open. Almost like an egg.

She looked around, half expecting something to jump out and attack her, but there was nothing. It was quiet except for the mechanical whirring and beeping. Turning her gaze back to the broken specimen, she sighed. Well, hopefully they could still salvage enough of it for the Aquitar Science Academy's research. Maybe they could give a sample to NASADA as well if they were lucky.

She scooped up as much of the icky goo with the specimen's shell as possible before picking it and TJ's backpack up off the floor. TJ would not be happy with the state of his backpack but maybe it would teach him not to leave his things behind so haphazardly. Hitching the shoulder strap to a more comfortable position, Cassie stuffed the sticky specimen in her elbow and walked towards the engine room doors.

A faint hiss made her stop and turn, casting one last look behind her at the room. It really was creepy being alone in a room like this on the Astro Megaship. How Zhane managed to do it for the last two years was beyond her. She liked her quiet time, but she need other people to at least be visible. Satisfied she was indeed alone, she turned away and walked back to her friend.

She noticed the pale blueish light coming from somewhere in the back of the engine room and paused. Zhane had been looking in that general direction earlier right before Ashley distracted him and had been acting off ever since. It was none of her business, even Rangers had secrets. But Rangers also had an almost satiable curiosity.

She turned back and made her cautious way back to the open door. She glanced over her shoulder self-consciously before stepping inside the room. It was cold in here, she noticed. Very cold. She saw her breath come out in puffs and shivered instinctually. She looked around the room and heard a faint beep.

Drawn to the sound, she moved forward until she could clearly see a row of metal boxes extending from the far wall. All of them were empty except for one on the far left. On the flat top of that box was a frosted glass case. No, she realized, not glass. Ice. Memories of the many science fiction films, both good and bad, she had seen with her friends came back to her. This was a cryotube; an _active_ cryotube.

That meant someone was in here. She knew it was wrong, but curiosity was a dangerously insatiable temptation. She reached out hesitantly and rubbed her hand across the smooth, cold surface of the sole active cryotube and stared down. It was definitely humanoid in shape, but a red...something was covering the person's face. It was hard to make out any features because the frosty glaze was returning aided by her increased breathing.

Zhane knew about this. He probably put the person in status in the first place. But why? Why do that? Was the person hurt? Were they sick? Were they dangerous? Why did Zhane keep it a secret? Why not tell Cassie and the others? They were friends. Friends trusted each other, right? So why keep a secret like this?

Unless there was more to the story, which was inevitably true, Cassie knew. There was always was more to the story. Perhaps Zhane cared about this person and did not want to let go and face the inevitable. Maybe he was hoping to find a cure for whatever hypothetical illness the person had. Or maybe...

Cassie shook her head. This was none of her business. It was Zhane's secret and she had come to know Zhane faily well over the last couple months. He was prone to flights of fancy, enjoyed lazing around and pulling harmless pranks, but he was a loyal and dedicated fighter. He refused to leave the former Turbo Rangers stranded on the moon when they first met, had saved their lives and been saved by them on numerous occasions, and constantly cheered them up. If Zhane was keeping this under wraps, he had a reason and Cassie would not pry.

She deliberately turned her back to the cryostasis tub and walked out of the healing chamber, back into the engine room, and out into the hallway. She was going to return the backpack to TJ, the specimen to Zhane, and keep her mouth shut until she could speak to Zhane privately. He deserved to know what she had done and Cassie preferred it if Zhane heard it from her personally rather than through DECA. Now was not the time for discord to tear their team apart what with Astromeda prancing all over the place.

* * *

><p>Inhuman eyes watched the interloper leave, hissing again. It was too young, too fresh out of the egg to attack just yet. It had to dry out first. It huddled behind the damaged control panel and examined its nesting ground. It looked strange, but this was where he had hatched so it must be safe with food available nearby.<p>

A faint light from deep in the back of the nesting ground caught it's multi-facetted eyes, capturing its curiosity. Perhaps there was food in there. It skittered across the floor to the open portal and peered inside. The soft blue glow emanated from a rectangular box thing further in the room. Perhaps it was another nest. A nest meant eggs, eggs meant larvae, larvae meant food.

Please with its find, the creature hurried over to the box, crouching low before pouncing. Almost immediately, it clacked viciously and retreated. It was cold! The nest was cold! That meant it had been abandoned long ago. But there was something inside the frosty box. It could just make out the frozen critter's outline.

The monster scratched the ice, pounded it, scraped it. It made gouges in the frozen block that were almost deep enough to reach the frozen larvae. If the parents abandoned this nest, then they abandoned the larvae, which mean it was available to eat. The freshly hatched monster was hungry.

But the gouges were refreezing. How was that possible? Ice did not form that fast naturally. He monster released a hoarse snarl in frustration and smashed the blinking panel on the side of the ice. There was a high pitched squeal followed by abrupt silence.

The monster did not move for several seconds, waiting for a predator to come. The squeal was loud. Perhaps it had killed the frozen larvae. That meant dinner was served. It took a deep breath in satisfaction, pausing when it caught the faintest scent of something.

It smelled good. More importantly, it smelled alive. The monster stared at the frozen larvae in consideration before hopping off the frozen nest to the cool ground. The frozen larvae could wait. It scented fresh meat. It hurried out of the room, following the fresh, meaty scent, and leaving behind the frozen larvae that was quickly becoming unfrozen.

It lumbered back into its nesting ground and saw the doors to the outside were closed. There was no way out. The Insectid growled, trying to remember how the thin, pale larvae had escaped. It had touched something on the tower thing there and the walls opened up. The Insectid reached out and pressed one of the glowing things.

It beeped but nothing happened. The Insectid hit another, again another beep but nothing else. Frustrated, it pounded the surface causing sparks to fly out of the surface. The nesting ground jolted abruptly shaking the walls and wreaking havoc on the Insectid's balance. It fell to it's knees bumping another beeping thing and the wall opened.

Gurgling with glee, it ran out of the nesting ground and followed the scent down the hall. It was everywhere, both ways. Which way to go. It followed the freshest scent down the hall to the right.

* * *

><p>DECA was somewhat annoyed that she had been unable to fix all of her sabotaged systems yet. It was a slow process requiring both mechanical and manual labor and supervision, both of which were a bit hard to come by since the war of KO-35. Zhane was a good mechanic but nowhere near as good as Andros had been. The Astro Rangers were learning quickly, but they were not yet masters.<p>

She allowed herself a brief moment of pride when she finally restored the cables connecting her mainframe to the cameras in the engine room and healing chambers. Her happiness faded quickly when her newly restored sensors indicated the door to the healing chambers was open. She switched her focus to the cameras inside the environmentally regulated room and observed the deep claw marks in the cryostasis tube as well as the heavily damaged control panel. She had not chance reconnecting to that panel on her own. She would need a human to do it. She could, however, access the last measurements taken by the cryotube before it was damaged.

The temperature had been at safe levels. However, the pulse was a solid flatline and the official status of the patient just before the panel's destruction was simple.

Status: **CARDIAC ARREST.**

Without the life sustaining characteristics of the ice and medications embedded in the tube, the patient would have died within seconds. Andros was dead. DECA had failed. Zhane would never recover from this.

Before she could begin calculating how to break the news to Zhane, her engines suddenly stopped providing the required power to escape the planet's orbit and began plummeting violently back to the surface far below. She quickly activated her engine room cameras to see what had happened just as a monstrous Insectid disappeared out of the engine doors into the hallway.

She had to warn the others and sounding her sirens. But not before she saw the Insectid's claws. It had been responsible for Andros's death. She would make sure the Insectid suffered.

* * *

><p>It was cold.<p>

That seemed to be a recurring thought for him. Space was cold. His room was cold. The ship was cold. The quantrons were cold. Ecliptor was cold. Loneliness was cold. He was cold.

Only his sister, Astronema, was warm. Astronema and the heat of rage and hate kept him going in this lonely, frigid world.

No.

No that was not right.

Zhane had been warm. Every time Zhane laughed or smiled or called him 'friend,' he had felt a kind of warmth he could not decide was welcome or not. And the morpher he could never seem to get rid of filled him with a flaming, living fire that was simultaneously exhilarating and overwhelming. It was also a tad terrifying.

He was a Ranger, one of his mortal enemies. If anyone ever found out, especially Dark Spectre, he would be killed faster than his heart could flutter in terror. Darkonda had known and paid the ultimate price. While he never got the chance to see the imp shrivel in agony poison ate him alive from the inside out, he knew it was incurable.

But that still begged the question: why was he able to think these things if Darkonda had killed him? Why was he able to think at all? He remembered what the teachers at the Kerovan Ranger Academy had said about former Rangers becoming a part of the Morphing Grid after death, to return should there ever be a need for them. But that did not add up to what he was feeling right now, at this moment.

He did not feel dead. He was breathing, he could feel his heart pounding steadily in his chest, and he was shivering. Death could not be this cold. Dying, yes, that made sense. But he remembered feeling warm the last few minutes of consciousness. Zhane had been there.

That's right. Darkonda had found out about his morpher and set up a trap which he, as the stupid sentimental fool he was, had walked right into it. He had been overconfident, and worried. When the fiend attacked Zhane, he had no second thoughts jumping in front of him and taking the blast. It had felt right, second nature. It still burned and he was familiar enough with death to know it was fatal.

So why was he not dead? There was no way a dead person could think this much. He shivered and twitched, wanting to roll over. He felt stiff like he had been sleeping in the same position all night. Sleeping?

Suddenly, his pain ached, feeling heavy and it became hard to breathe. It gasped and arched his back against the pain, fighting the urge to scream. After several agonizing seconds, it was over and he collapsed back to the solid, cool surface he lay on. Lay on?

He opened his eyes, and nothing. There was nothing, just darkness. He refused to allow himself to panic, even as his heartbeat began to pick up speed. He forced his breathing to remain slow and even and blinked several times slowly. The darkness was fading into a gray-ish tunnel. So his sight was not permanently gone, just temporarily so. He could work with that.

Silence rang in his ears. It was so loud as to almost be painful. Silence was lonely. He twitched and his hand brushed something solid and cold. Slowly, the tunneling of his vision began to widen until he could see again. It was still blurry, probably from disuse, but he could clearly make out the hood of his red cloak and the blue-white shell above and around him. Ice.

Was he in a cryotube? So he was saved from Darkonda's attack. But why? And by whom? Zhane? But why would the Astro Silver Ranger save his life? They were mortal enemies, were they not? Surely such weak and petty things as 'friendship' did not extend to enemies.

He could deal with who put him here and why later. Right now, he had to focus on something more important, getting out. He lifted his arms, surprised at how heavy and stiff they felt, and pressed his hands against the ice shell. It took some effort, but it was working. The ice began to crack until finally, it burst open, crumbling away in pieces and crumbles.

He carefully sat up, leaning on the ice when a wave of vertigo threatened to drag him back under. After a moment, he blinked back and began working himself free. The ice around his legs and feet was thicker than it had been over his head and torso. From the marks on the ice shell's surface, he could tell something had attempted to dig him out. Claw marks raked deep grooves through the cold healing material.

Was the owner of those claws the evil he could sense, tingling at the edges of his mind? Was this a friendly place or not? No time to think about it. His sight was still not absolutely clear and his mind was having trouble focusing on one thing for extended periods of time. It was considered a common side affect of extended stays in cryostasis. But that meant he had been in stasis for a while. How long...?

Without warning, whatever place the cryotube was in shook violently and sirens sounded. The klaxon sounded vaguely familiar for some reason. He decided now was not the time to think. Now was the time to get out.

* * *

><p>Cassie stepped out of the megalift and made her way to the mess hall where she knew she would be most likely to find TJ and the others. Sure enough, there they were sitting comfortably around one of the tables watching with rapt interest as Zhane slurped up a rather messy spaghetti noodle. She paused in the doorway waiting for his response.<p>

Predictably, Zhane's eyes grew round and he burst into a grin. "I like it," he declared. "It's suitably messy."

TJ laughed heartily, as did the others. "Figures you'd find that part the best part."

"Speaking of messy things," Cassie said, stepping into the room. "The specimen broke and made a mess of your backpack TJ." She handed the dripping bag to the distraught Blue, smiling apologetically. "Maybe now you'll remember not to set things down and leave them when there's something delicate in there."

"Yeah," TJ moaned.

Cassie patted her friend on the shoulder, her eyes flickering to Zhane before swiftly finding something else to focus on. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the ship suddenly lurching to the side.

"What the-?"

"DECA!" Zhane demanded urgently. "What's happening?"

"An Instectid has infiltrated my engine room and damaged the main control column," the A.I. answered with only the faintest trace of concern. "It is currently on its way to the bridge."

"Where's it at right now?" Zhane asked.

"Hanger Bay 1," DECA replied.

"Go!" TJ commanded.

It was more instinct than and actual command since everyone was already running out of the mess hall towards the megalift and the bridge. They could not let the whatever-it-was get control of the Astro Megaship. TJ may be a Blue now, but he had been Red for a while and the leadership instinct never truly went away.

"Zhane, Cassie, get this ship stabilized and on the ground as safely as possible," he commanded. "Carlos, Ashley, with me. Come on, let's kick some bug butt."

"Right behind you," Ashley cried as she and Carlos raced after their former Red.

She did not need to look to know Cassie and Zhane had taken the hallway bridge. She followed Carlos and TJ into the megalift and went down several levels to Hanger Bay 1. Almost immediately after the megalift doors hissed open, they caught aight of the bug-like monstrosity. It was hard to miss. It was brownish-red like the desert on the planet and making quite a bit of noise.

"Get 'im!" Carlos cried, racing towards it head on. TJ and Ashley were not far behind.

The bug -what did DECA call it again? An Insectid?- met their frontal assault directly, knocking Carlos back several paces before receiving a roundhouse punch from TJ and a high kick from Ashley. It was strong and the violent pitching of the damaged Astro Megaship was not making it easy to fight and maintain their balance at the same time.

Then there was a sudden, almighty thud which slammed all of them including the Insectid to the floor. The next thing the Rangers left behind knew, the hanger bay door opened and bright, desert light flooded the space. The light was a welcome change for the Rangers who took the chance to regroup while the Insectid struggled back to its hind legs.

"Let's Rocket!" they shouted in unison and the battle began in ernest.

* * *

><p>A hooded and cloaked figure slunk along the hallway walls towards the whatever lie ahead, hopefully freedom. Just as the shadow found an emergency ladder leading to a hatch above in the ceiling and into the floor below, the violent shaking of the transport he was on slammed downwards. He tumbled into the alcove, staggered as the transport rocked side to side. They must be under attack of crashing. Either way, he had to get off this ship now.<p>

Healing chambers were typically kept in the center of a ship near the bridge for protection and stability purposes. Hanger bays would be below and the bridge would most likely be a level above. Logic said to go down to the hanger bays, but escape pods would be scattered throughout the ship for emergency, concentrated near the bridge. He had to go up.

He hauled himself up the ladder just as the ship slammed again, this time accompanied by a disturbing grinding sound. The force of the jolt almost caused him to fall back to the floor. Curse his cryo-weakened body to Dark Spectre's gullet. Ignoring the burning ache in his muscles, he quickly pulled himself up and pushed the ceiling hatch open.

A series of consecutive thuds indicated people approaching. He quickly ducked back down, closing the door behind him just as the feet ran past. He waited a good thirty seconds before daring to open the hatch again and peer out. The hallway was empty now. He opened the hatch fully and clambered out taking care to close the hatch softly behind him.

He snuck down the hallway as quietly as he could. The ship had stopped rocking thankfully, but his blurred sight and cryo-weakened body was still having trouble staying balanced. The ringing in his ears was not helping in the slightest. Was that ringing actually _in_ his ears or was it the ship's alert? Nope, it was in his ears.

He leaned against a wall gasping to rid himself of the incessant vertigo before forcing himself keep moving. There were several doors further down to the right which he sincerely hoped was either the bridge or an alcove with escape pods. He blinked, relieved to see his eyesight was becoming clearer, and raced down the hall to the doors.

Sure enough, it was the bridge. But it was not just any bridge. He would know this particular bridge anywhere. He knew it intimately. This was the Astro Megaship bridge. But that meant Zhane was here, he thought feeling a thrill of excitement.

Or did it? He forced himself to calm down and thing, relieved when he found it easier to do now. He had no idea how long he was in cryostasis. It could very well have been years. Would Zhane has stayed for that long? Was he even alive? He could be dead.

But that meant Astronema was probably dead. Zhane and Astronema were close in age so if one was dead...

No. No! He refused to think like that. Astronema was alive. He refused to think differently. He had to find her and get back to her. He had to. But first-

"Identify yourself."

He smiled. So DECA was still in control of the ship. Good. Still, he had to disable DECA's voice just in case she got it into her mechanical head to warn her current crew of his arrival.

"Identify yourself," the A.I. commanded once more.

"Hello DECA," he said simply.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, "Voice print recognized. Welcome back Andros."

"It's good to be back, DECA," he replied. He made his way over to the forward controls re-familiarizing himself with the many buttons and levers. "Have you informed the others of my return?"

"No," DECA replied. "I will-"

"Don't," He replied.

A few quick clacks on the input keypad and DECA's voice deactivated. It was a temporary fix, but it could buy him some time. Not much though considering DECA was smart enough to work around the voice deactivation sequence within a few minutes or so. If his luck held out, he would be long gone from here. Why take an escape pod if he could just take the entire ship? The Astro Megaship was his in everything but name after all.

A quick flip of a switch and press of a button on the forward control panel and the main view screen turned on. He lifted his hooded eyes and watched the people on the image. He could not see any of their faces but the bright, blatant colors screamed who they were: Power Rangers. Blue was male, tall and strong, moved quickly and with precision; Black was also male, shorter and thinner but willowy and quick on his feet; Yellow was female, flexible and excellent footwork; Pink was also female, efficient and clever; and then there was Silver.

He did not need to see the mask removed to know Silver was Zhane, he just knew. The way he moved, the voice coming through the Ranger's communicators over the bridge's speakers, everything about him screamed Zhane. He was alive. Zhane was alive, and a Ranger. Even after everything that had happened, Zhane was still a Ranger.

Zhane was a Ranger and he was Astrollon, the Dark Prince. Two opposite ends of the spectrum.

But where was the Red Ranger? He fingered his left wrist and was stunned to find metal there. He lifted his hand up and, sure enough, there was the accursed Red Astro morpher. Zhane had let him keep it even after...

He lifted his eyes to stare at the screen again and was blinded by an explosion which he was sure was the enemy's destruction. But what were those other creepy things fighting the Rangers? He whirled around when he heard running feet approaching expecting to see the Power Rangers ready to attack.

Instead, he was greeted by the sight of more of those creepy, humanoid things chasing a robot of all things. The robot had an oddly shaped head, like a flattened sphere. It squealed in a language he had never heard before but somehow understood. That was something he had trouble explaining away after he got the morpher. Damn the Power to Dark Spectre's darkest pits.

"Gah! Not another one!" the robot exclaimed. "Wait, you're different from the others. What are you- Aye-yai-yai! Run!"

Without waiting for an answer, the robot bolted out of the room practically dragging a few of the creepy things with him. A few decided to stay behind and attempt to scavenge the control room. As if he was going to let that happen. This was his ship and like hell he was going to let low-lifes like these things rip her apart.

He attacked them. They were not strong but they were flexible, pesky, and numerous. But never let it be said something as pathetic as these could defeat the Dark Prince. He dispatched them quickly and efficiently, killing them with an ease he remembered well. It was easy, too easy. Something was not right. DECA was not causing him problems in her passive aggressive fashion like he expected her to.

He broke the neck of the last creature and stalked towards the door. The door slammed shut in front of him. She would not dare. He raced to the second door only to have that one slammed shut in his face as well. She would. Curse all that was unholy in this godforsaken universe, she would. The passive aggressive A.I. had locked him in the bridge.

"Oh I knew you were tricky but this is a new low for you," he muttered and set about trying to hot-wire the doors back open, cursing all the while.


	4. First Impressions

**A/N:** I got off work today so I could write this. Another long chapter, yay! I haven't completely edited it 'cause it's late here and I have a 9:05am Italian test tomorrow. Worse, my college is closing early tomorrow due to snow instead of doing the right thing and closing all said, enjoy and goodnight.

**Important: **The retractable rod Andros uses as a weapon is based on the weapon of choice for Capt. Dillian Hunt of the High Guard from Gene Roddenberry's TV show _Andromeda_.

**Chapter summary: **In which first impressions are not necessarily good, but not necessarily bad either.

* * *

><p><strong>First Impressions<strong>

"We need to get off the ground," TJ yelled.

Zhane could not agree more. "Get back on the ship!" he yelled.

He fought his way through the creatures, helping Ashley hold them back so their fellow Rangers could get back on board. They needed to get off the ground just enough to do repairs before reentering a safe planetary orbit. He just hoped DECA was not too damaged. They could not afford to be grounded here.

"DECA, lock the door to Hanger Bay 1!" Zhane commanded once his fellow Rangers made it safely into the hanger. The door slammed shut, preventing any more of those things getting on board.

"Ashley, Carlos, you're with Zhane. Track down the ones that got in," TJ said as they piled into the megalift. "Try to corral them into a hanger so we can force them off."

"Got it!"

"Cassie, with me. We'll clear a path to the bridge and get us off this rock," he hollered over his shoulder as he and the Pink Ranger raced down the hall leaving the others in the megalift.

"DECA," Carlos said. "Take us to where those things are."

Without replying, the A.I. activated the megalift, taking them down a level while Cassie followed TJ down the hall, taking care to keep her steps quiet. "DECA," she called to the camera mounted on the wall, "where's Alpha?"

No response. Cassie and TJ paused to stare at the camera in surprise. "DECA?" Cassie called again. Still no response. The light blinked like it did when DECA spoke but no sound came through the speakers.

"I don't like this," TJ said. He held up his communicator and said, "Guys, DECA's voice isn't working. Those things may have gotten into the computers."

"That shouldn't happen," Zhane said. "DECA's voice program is built into her overall program. It takes a specific sequence to deactivate it, even temporarily. Unless...shit! They've gotten to the engine room!"

TJ and Cassie shared a worried look through their helmets. "Need backup?" TJ called.

"Not yet," Ashley said. "We're handling it for now."

"Ashley's right," Carlos said. "Get this ship off the ground. That's the main priority right now."

"Right," TJ said, cutting off his communicator and continuing down the hall with Cassie by his side.

* * *

><p>Zhane attacked the creepy creatures with more viciousness than he usually did. However, one of the creepers slipped past him and ran into the room in the back with the strange blue glow emanating from it. It was Ashley who saw it first.<p>

"Zhane, behind you!" she cried.

Carlos glanced over his shoulder to be sure his friend was alright and was stunned to see Zhane give a desperate cry, stop what he was doing, and run after the lone creeper. "Zhane!" he called, slashing the nearest creeper with his Lunar Lance. "Wait up!"

He ran after his friend, Ashley on his heels, fighting past the creepers that insisted on getting in their way. Ashley drew her Star Slinger and zapped the infuriating creatures. The Rangers did not wait for the bodies to hit the ground before bursting into the blue lit room, only to see Zhane strangling the creeper and screaming unintelligibly in a language they did not understand.

"Zhane!" Ashley and Carlos cried together.

"Zhane! Zhane stop. Stop!" Ashley shouted, trying to pull her friend off the creeper.

Zhane ignored her forcing Carlos to add his strength to Ashley's. Together, they managed to haul their Silver off of the creeper ignoring Zhane's cries and demands for them to let him go. Ashley pushed Zhane into Carlos's arms, drew her Star Slinger, and blasted the creeper leaving a smoking hole in its chest.

"Zhane!" Carlos said, easing his sobbing friend down to his knees. "Zhane, what's wrong?"

"Are you hurt? Did something happen?" Ashley asked gently, setting her weapon aside to take Zhane's helmeted head in her hands. "You have to talk to me. Let us help you."

Zhane curled in on himself and wept unabashedly speaking in indistinguishable, sob-mangled words. Ashley sighed and eased Zhane's helmet off so she could see her friend. Zhane's pale face was blotchy and streaked with tears. Carlos rubbed Zhane's back, confused as to what had set the Kerovan off, but never one to give up on a friend.

"Zhane," Ashley said gently, removing her own helmet and taking the Silver's face between her gloved hands. "Zhane, listen to me. Calm down. I need you to tell me what's wrong. What happened?"

"They killed him," Zhane gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and ducking his head.

Ashley would not let him look away for long. She lifted Zhane's face and forced him to meet her eyes. "Who? Who killed who?" Zhane gasped, trying to calm himself down and regain control. Ashley let him, waiting patiently.

"My friend," he whispered. "He was... I mean we... We weren't... But I couldn't... He was supposed to be safe!"

"Who?" Ashley pressed gently.

Zhane took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Andros," he said. "He... I put... He was in cryostasis," he said, nodding to the cryotubes along the wall behind Ashley. "He's... He's gone. His pod, it's completely destroyed."

Carlos stood and studied the row of pods and sure enough, the one on the far side was bloody and looked like something had ripped it apart. He met Ashley's inquiring gaze through his helmet and nodded slowly. "That monster must have gotten it before it escaped the ship," he said.

"He saved my life," Zhane said, his hands gripping his platinum blonde hair as if trying to pull them out by the roots. "He had no reason to but he did and I..."

"It wasn't your fault," Ashley said firmly.

"She's right," Carlos, taking a knee and removing his own helmet so he could stare Zhane straight in the eye. "Did you rip that pod apart and kill your friend?"

"No!" Zhane cried, stunned Carlos would even suggest that. "I would never-"

"Then it's _not_ your fault," Carlos said harshly, speaking over his friend. "You didn't do it. You tried to save him. That monster did this. Not you. We destroyed the monster." He placed a hand on Zhane's shoulder. "Look," he said, "he may not be dead. We don't know if he's dead. There's no body, nor organs, nothing. Just blood." Zhane winced. "What if he woke up and cut himself trying to get out?"

"That's not-"

"But it's possible," Ashley insisted. "We don't know yet. We haven't looked at DECA's cameras and her voice is down so she can't tell us. We'll find out what happened," she said. "I promise. But first, we need to get rid of these thing before they cause more damage, ok?"

Reluctantly, Zhane nodded. He noticed the dead creeper and glared at it, spitting on its hooded face.

"I'll agree to that statement," Carlos said, hauling his friend to his feet. He patted Zhane's shoulder while the Silver replaced his helmet. "Come on," he said. "Let's go see why the ship isn't airborne yet."

They dragged the creeper's body into the engine room with the others for later collection before headed up to the bridge.

* * *

><p>Cassie kept pace with TJ as they ran down the hall. They paused when the hall curved and pressed against the wall. Cautiously, they leaned around the corner to make sure it was clear before moving out into the open. The two doors leading to the bridge itself were shut. Hopefully that meant DECA had closed them to prevent anything from getting in. They took that as a clear sign and stepped out. But just as they cleared the corner there was a burst of bright red light and sparks accompanied by coughing and muffled cursing.<p>

When the smoke cleared, TJ and Cassie stared at the indistinguishable form that stumbled out of the debris of the damaged door in shock. The figure caught sight of them and froze. None of them moved while the three studied each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then Cassie noticed something. This figure resembled the creepy things that had attacked them, but this one seemed more sentient than the others. Also, its cloak was a deep crimson, not the plain, dirt brown the other wore. Where had she seen that particular shade of red before? The cryotube. She gasped and the figure bolted, racing down the hall in the opposite direction of the Rangers. Cassie ran after him followed closely by TJ who activated his communicator.

"Guys!" he yelled into the communicator's mic. "We got an intruder! It's not one of those creepy flaily things. I repeat, it is _not_ one of those creepy flaily things."

"Creepy flaily things?" Carlos asked.

"On it," Ashley's voice crackled in response. "Where are you?"

"Just past the bridge headed to the port-side megalift," TJ replied.

"DECA, lock down the port-side megalift," Cassie commanded.

DECA's computerize voice crackled indistinctly as her attempts to override the voice deactivation began to work. Cassie had no way of knowing what the garbled computerized sounds meant but the sound of frustrated pounding on the megalift door was a clear enough answer. When she and TJ rounded the bend, they saw the intruder ram his fist into the metal door.

"It won't open," Cassie said.

Her voice brought the stranger's attention squarely on her. As the stranger turned, Cassie caught a glimpse of pale skin and black leather as well as a metallic glint on the stranger's left wrist. There was also thin streaks of blood on the door where the intruder had been hitting it. Maybe the person was injured. For a moment, it looked like the intruder would give up.

The next moment, Cassie was forced to duck as a metal pole swung directly through the space her head had been. Where the pole came from or how it got there was beyond her. All she knew was that the stranger had just become a threat to both her safety and the safety of her friends. She saw TJ dodge a sharp jab from the stranger's pole and took the chance to dive towards the attacker. If she could crowd him against the corner between the megalift door and the wall, they could disarm him.

Unfortunately, the stranger anticipated her. His pole retracted to a smaller, more compact version as he slipped between her and TJ. The stranger was forced to contort his body when Cassie made a grab for him up high just as TJ lashed out with with a kick from below. Somehow, the stranger managed to dodge and regain his footing after wobbling precariously for a split-second.

Cassie ran forward to attack only to be forced to dodge the now extended pole the stranger wielded. That weapon could prove to be a problem if she could not anticipate its extension and retraction. A grunt from TJ made her aware of another danger concurrent with the pole. Sparks leapt from the tip of the extended metal rod and lanced over TJ's morphed body. Thankfully, the Power protected the Blue Ranger from the deadly affects but even the full morph could not entirely block the pain.

Cassie smacked the empowered rod away from her friend, biting back a cry from the shock, and aimed a roundhouse kick on the attacker. She connected firmly with the intruder's chest, knocking him back a few paces. She expected him to continue attacking, but he did not. Instead, he retracted his rod, turned, and fled down the hall to the other megalift on this level.

"DECA!" she cried. "Lock down the starboard megalift."

"Af...tive," the computerized voice replied amid garbled sounds. Good, the A.I. almost had her voice back.

"And contact the others," TJ added. "Let them know the intruder's hostile."

"Af...tive," came the reply.

Suddenly, the stranger crashed into something and rebounded back against the wall to keep from losing his balance. TJ cleared the corner a split-second after Cassie did and was surprised to see Alpha flailing and squealing. Several of the brown robed creepers were still clinging to the little robot although a couple broke off and went after the intruder.

They did not last more than a couple seconds against him. The intruder attacked with deadly force, extending his pole straight through the gut of the first creature. It flailed and fell still just as the intruder swung it at its companion, retracting the now bloodied rod. Cassie was stunned to see a blade sticking out of the pole's end. It certainly had not been there when he fought her and TJ. That had to mean something.

Luckily, Carlos, Ashley, and Zhane had taken care of business quick and taken the starboard megalift up to the bridge level. They came running around the bend just in time to see the intruder dispatch the two creepers who attacked him. The creatures were flung haphazardly at the newly arrived Rangers.

Carlos caught the brunt of the attack but managed to heave the body and surviving creature off of him moments before the stranger jabbed his pole into the survivor and electrocute it. The remaining creature squealed and huddled against the wall most likely pleading for mercy; mercy the intruder clearly had no desire to give.

He raised his half extended rod and slammed it down, only for it to be stopped inches from impact by a black staff topped by a crescent shaped blade. The stranger followed the staff up to its owner and saw the Black Ranger holding it firmly.

"We don't kill if we don't have to," the Black Ranger said. "It's surrendering. We'll let it go on the planet."

Carlos could feel the glare burning into him from under the crimson cloak hood, but held firm. They were Rangers not mercenaries. They did not kill for sport. Unfortunately, the stranger did not seem to agree. His pole became electrified and only Ashley's quick actions to jostle the Lunar Lance out of Carlos's hands saved him from getting shocked.

The next instant, the stranger's pole swing down towards the Yellow Ranger's shoulder only to be deflected at the last second by TJ. The sudden change in direction and angle knocked the stranger off balance and Zhane took the chance to grab the intruder's arm and slam him back against the wall opposite the creepy things which Alpha, TJ, and Cassie guarded. Ashley and Carlos took up positions on either side of Zhane effectively blocking the stranger's escape routes.

The force of the body slam loosened the stranger's hold on his rod which Ashley ripped from his hands. The moment it was in her grasp, it retracted to its compact form of a one foot long metal rod. Zhane held the stranger firmly while Carlos wedged the crescent blade of his Lunar Lance around the captive's neck. The hooded person instantly stilled, not interested in slicing his neck open.

"Who are you?" Zhane demanded. "And what are you doing on my ship?"

"Zhane," DECA interrupted.

"Not now DECA," the Silver Ranger said.

"Andros is alive," she said anyway.

The Silver Ranger froze, everything becoming blurred before returning in sharp contrast. His senses became hyper-focused, taking in everything he saw, felt, and smelled. The color of the stranger's cloak was suddenly a very distinct shade of dark crimson, almost like congealed blood, and the rod the stranger used to attack, the glimpse of pale skin within the dark shadow of the hood and black leather on the person's chest peaking out from the cloak's folds... It could not be.

He slowly released his hold on the person and stepped back so only Carlos's Lunar Lance kept the captive in place. Ice blue eyes flickered up and down the person, desperate to see what he sincerely hoped he would see. After a moment, he lifted his eyes to where he knew the person's unseen eyes would be under the hood, and asked in a small voice, "Andros?"

The person stiffened at the name then slumped against the wall. That was proof enough for Zhane, but he wanted... He _needed_ to see his friend's face to be absolutely sure. He carefully reached out and gently lifted the hood up, revealing the person's face. There, standing in front of him was, impossibly, Andros. Blonde streaked brown hair was tied back from his face and tumbling over his shoulders. Sharp, hazel eyes watched them, taking in every movement, assessing them for threats.

Zhane placed a hand on Carlos's Lunar Lance and gently pushed it away. However, the moment Andros made a move as if to run, Zhane capture him in a back breaking hug. Andros coughed as the air was pressed out of his lungs and struggled in the tight embrace. He felt his cryo-weakened bones creak under the friendly abuse. It did not take long before he realized there was no point fighting this and slowed his struggling.

He only stopped completely when he heard the strangest sound right by his ear. Zhane was crying. Confused, Andros did the only thing he could at the moment and placed both hands on the Silver Ranger's back. He was not sure why he did it except he felt he had to. He felt completely out of place and disoriented by the situation. No one but his sister had ever cried on his shoulder so openly before. Why was Zhane doing it now?

"You're alive."

Andros blinked in surprise at those words.

"You're alive," Zhane repeated, pulling away just enough so he could stare at Andros's face, memorizing it again. "I found the cryotube," he said quickly, stumbling over his words. "The ice was ripped apart and there was blood and shards and the electronics weren't working and you were gone I thought you were dead why didn't you contact me why didn't DECA contact me why didn't..." He stopped abruptly in his waterfall of words, confusing Andros yet again. "You deactivated DECA's voice didn't you," Zhane accused.

Andros felt a surge of guilt and immediately fought it off with anger. "What business is it of yours?" he demanded softly.

"Why didn't you let her tell me?" Zhane demanded.

"It wasn't your business."

"You saved my life," Zhane countered incredulously.

"Against a common enemy," Andros said.

Before he could continue, Zhane snatched Andros's left wrist and yanked it up, turning it over to see the hunk of metal attached to it as well as the trail of blood leaking from a slice on the palm of his hand. Andros blinked at the cut, not noticing its presence until now. It hurt.

"You kept it," Zhane murmured in shock.

"Is that...?" Cassie breathed, recognizing the morpher. Now that she thought about it, she could sense the Power in the stranger. Why did she not notice it before?

Andros blinked and flushed when he remembered the morpher was still securely strapped to his wrist. and yanked his arm back, draping a billowy sleeve over the incriminating metal. "What of it?" he demanded softly, glaring at Zhane.

Zhane could hardly believe this. This was not exactly the reunion he had hoped to have, but it was the most realistic. They had a twisted history but there was one thing Zhane was sure of, Andros was his first real friend. Even if it had all been on a lie on Andros's part, it had been sincere on Zhane's. But the incident with Darkonda made it abundantly clear: even though Andros denied being Zhane's friend, said it was all fake, the idiot had still willingly almost sacrificed himself to save the Silver Ranger. That meant more than Zhane could ever admit.

Zhane swallowed back his nerves and removed his helmet to meet his friend's eyes directly. "It's good to have you back, Andros," he said with a fragile smile. He fiddled with his helmet. "Are you planning on staying?"

Andros shifted his feet and glanced at the other Rangers around them with a lifted eyebrow. "I doubt I have much of a choice a the moment."

"Wait, wait, wait," TJ interjected. "He attacked us. If he was one of us," he said, gesturing to the morpher on Andros's wrist earning him a furious glare, "then why would he attack us?"

"Cryostasis causes problems with the mind and body," Zhane said, cutting off Andros's reply. "People who've been subjected to it for extended periods of time often report being temporarily blind, muting or muffling of the senses, debilitating disorientation and balance issues, as well as slower cognitive capabilities. It's always temporary but the effects are still significant. We've never been able to figure out how to mitigate them."

TJ moved to speak up again when Ashley caught his arm. He turned to her and saw her shake her head. She tapped her wrist indicating they'd talk about it later and he let the subject drop. Instead, he crossed his arms. "That still leaves us with the problem of that creepy flaily thing," he said, glancing back at the cowering creatures.

"Creepy flaily thing?" Andros repeated incredulously.

"We'll set them free on their planet since they surrendered," Zhane said. "We'll give it the rest so it can take care of their dead in its own way." He paused and glanced at Andros. "That sound okay to you?" he asked.

"Why are you asking him?" Carlos asked suspiciously.

"Because he's the R-"

"It's my ship, that's why," Andros said. "The Astro Megaship is _my_ ship. I helped design and build her and helped create DECA's program. She's mine." He grinned. "Got a problem with that?"

"Andros, lay off," Zhane said with a playful nudge.

Hazel eyes blinked in confusion. "Lay...off?" he muttered.

"It means stop pushing and let it be," Zhane explained. He winked. "I've been learning a lot of cool new stuff from Earth."

"Earth?" Andros exclaimed. "What interest could that backwater planet possibly have? Except for Rita and Zedd, not many have shown any interest in it."

"You know of Rita and Zedd?" Cassie gasped.

"They're servants of Dark Spectre," Zhane explained, hoping Andros would catch the hint. "They caused problems on other planets before vanishing and reappearing on Earth. That's actually when people first started noticing Earth. There were no Power Rangers there for thousands of years until they showed up there and started causing trouble."

Andros narrowed his eyes but nodded in acknowledgement of both the spoken and spoken information. Although he did wonder why Zhane was keeping his identity a secret when he knew it was dangerous for all parties involved.

"I see," he said instead. "As for getting rid of it," he said, eyeing the creeper directly, enjoying the way they shrank away from him, "I suppose dropping it back on the planet will be fine."

"Good," Zhane said, slapping a hand on Andros's back firmly, knocking his forward. "Why don't you and I take care of that while TJ and the others help Alpha here fix DECA and start up the engines."

"Fine by me," Andros said. He blinked and rubbed his head, feeling a slight headache coming on.

"Wait," Ashley said. She walked up to Andros and removed her helmet. "You have a headache?" she asked in a friendly manner. Andros did not reply. He was too busy leaning away from the Ranger currently standing very much in his personal space. Ashley took that as a 'yes' and turned to Zhane. "I'll see if I can get some Tylenol from my bedroom if that would help."

Zhane nodded. "I'm not sure if it'll work for him considering it didn't do that much for me, but it's worth a try," he said with a smile. He swung an arm around Andros's shoulders, startling the young man and said, "Come on, Andros. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

He snagged the cloak of the cowering creeper and nudged it in front of them. Then he hauled the dead creeper over his shoulder and pranced down the hall with a backwards wave to his friends. Andros heaved a sighed and followed the Astro Silver to the megalift. The doors slid shut leaving the other Rangers standing in the hallway in confusion.

"Well," Alpha chirped. "That was interesting."

"Indeed," DECA said.

"DECA," TJ asked. "Who was that?"

"Are you referring to Andros?" she asked.

"Yeah," TJ replied. "He's got a morpher. What team is he from?"

"Andros is the Kerovan Red Astro Ranger," DECA said calmly.

"The Red?!" the group gasped.

"He's _our_ Red?" Carlos said.

"Why was he in cryostasis?" Cassie asked as she and her team made their way back to the bridge to start up the engine and begin working on repairs.

"That's classified," she replied.

"Classified?" Ashley asked, looking up at the red light on the starboard bridge camera. "But we're Rangers. And if he's our Red than we need to know."

"That's classified," DECA repeated.

The Rangers looked at each other while TJ shrugged and began the engine activation sequence. "Zhane seems to know him," he said casually. "Are they friends?"

"Yes," DECA answered.

"How'd they meet?" TJ asked.

"Kerovan Ranger Academy."

"So Andros was in the academy too," Cassie said. "But the way he fought just now..." She shook her head. "That wasn't like any style I've seen a Ranger use. It was...vicious."

"Don't judge too soon, Cassie," Ashley said gently. "We know KO-35 was destroyed by Dark Spectre from Zhane. What if Andros was there too and that's how he ended up in cryostasis?"

"That...makes sense actually," Carlos admitted. "If he woke up thinking the war was still going on, he would probably attack anything that moved."

"Even other Rangers?" TJ asked in mild disbelief.

"Think about it," Carlos said. "Zhane said the other Kerovan Rangers died in battle. What if Andros knew that and then saw us in the Astro Ranger uniforms?"

"He would've thought we were fakes," Cassie murmured in realization. "Poor guy."

"Of course, I'm just speculating here," Carlos admitted, "but if you think about it, it does make sense."

"Yeah," Ashley said soberly. "Yeah it does."

* * *

><p>"Why didn't you say anything?" Andros asked when he deemed them securely out of earshot.<p>

Zhane shrugged. "Not my story to tell," he said. "We all have our secrets."

"Some more dangerous than others," Andros said, pushing aside a living creeper to glare at the Silver Ranger. "I am your enemy. Why are you protecting me?"

Zhane met Andros's gaze evenly. "Because you're my friend," he said.

"I'm not you-"

"And you saved my life," Zhane continued, overriding Andros denial. "You could have let Darkonda kill me and kept your secret safe. But you didn't. You came to save me and then took the shot meant for me." Zhane sighed. "I can't ignore that. It may have been a lie to you, Andros, but it never was for me."

"Even when I walked away on KO-35, leaving you and the other Rangers to their fates?"

"Even then," Zhane said nodding. He paused, choosing his words carefully. "The Power doesn't choose people with evil hearts to hold its morphers. You learned that in the academy."

"I _am_ evil," Andros snarled.

"Are you?" Zhane countered. "You were chosen by the Red Astro morpher, you helped build the Astro Megaship, you saved my life more than once... You may be on the side of evil, but that doesn't mean _you_ are evil."

Andros huffed and rolled his eyes. "You apparently need to reevaluate your definition of evil, then."

"Do I, or do you?"

Andros ignored the Ranger, fingering his aching wrist. He would have to bandage it soon. "Where's my sister?" he asked softly.

"Safe as she can be at the moment," Zhane replied, stepping out of the megalift when the doors hissed open. They stepped out into Hanger Bay 1 and opened the bay door. "She's on the Fortress which we still haven't been able to find-"

"You won't," Andros said firmly.

"And Ecliptor's still with her," Zhane finished. "He seems incredibly loyal to her. Almost radically so," he said, glancing at Andros in question.

Andros nodded. "He raised us," he said. "He's the only one not stupid enough to try to turn on us and clever enough to come up with and carry out his own plans."

"I got that from our fights," Zhane said, dumping the body to the desert ground so the living creeper could quickly drag it away. Then he and Andros walked back to the megalift to gather the rest of the bodies from the engine room and hallway. "Ecliptor sometimes shows up if he thinks Astronema's in a bind."

Andros suddenly grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall. "You've hurt her?" he hissed furiously.

Zhane quickly raised his hands placatingly. "Nothing serious, I promise," he said quickly. "But we are fighting. I have to at least try to fight seriously. She can tell if I'm holding back. Besides," he added sheepishly, "she thinks I killed you."

Andros backed up in shock. "Killed me?" he demanded.

Zhane shrugged. "I guess Darkonda told her I'd killed you." His shoulders drooped. "It's been two years Andros. You were in cryosleep for two years. "

"Two years..." Andros fell back against the wall opposite Zhane and ran his hands over his face. "And she thinks I've been dead all this time."

It was not a question but Zhane treated it as one. He nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't just tell her I had you put in stasis. She'd ask questions I'm not sure you want her to know the answers to yet." He hesitated, unsure pf hpw to continue. "From what I heard, she didn't take the news too well. She lashed out at anyone and everyone who crossed her path, enemy and ally alike. But instead of angering Dark Spectre, like everyone expected, her actions seemed to impress him."

"Why do you say that?" Andros said, lifting his head and fixing his hazel eyes on Zhane.

The Silver Ranger crossed his arms and answered seriously. "He made her the Queen of All Evil," he said.

Andros stood straight, eyes wide in shock and he smiled proudly. "She did it," he breathed. "She did it."

"Yeah, she did it," Zhane said coldly. "But I get the feeling none of the others in Dark Spectre's armies are fond of it."

"No they wouldn't be," Andros said, thinking hard. "Dark Spectre encourages infighting so long as no one turns on him. He wants the strong to overpower and destroy the weak, even if it's in his own armies." He pushed away from the wall and strode down the hallway to gather up the bodies and drag them back to the megalift with Zhane's help. "The new Astros," he began, changing the subject, "they aren't space Rangers."

"Not originally, no," Zhane said. "They're planetary Rangers from Earth."

"I gathered that," Andros said. "What I want to know is how that backwater planet suddenly has a team of space Rangers."

"They had Zordon," Zhane answered simply.

Andros whirled on the Ranger. "What?" he demanded. "Zordon? You mean he was on that... He was on _Earth_ this whole time?"

Zhane nodded. "He was the one who called the first modern Earth Rangers."

Andros shook his head trying to process the information. "Damn that bastard," he muttered. He stiffened. "That meant Rita and Zedd knew. They _knew_ he was there and did nothing!"

"It doesn't matter now," Zhane said. "He's not there anymore. Divatox attacked the Earth Ranger's base and took Zordon. It's what drove them to space."

"Divatox?" Andros growled. "That ugly bitch?"

"Careful Andros," Zhane said harshly. "If you want to keep your cover as Andros, I'll help you. But I can't really help if you keep cursing like that. Come to think of it," he added curiously, "how are you able to do that? The Power keeps stopping me from cursing."

Andros shrugged. "Is it really cursing if I'm using the correct vernacular?"

"Excuse me?" Zhane asked incredulously. "You just called Divatox a b-" He bit off the word when the Power effectively stopped him from saying it. "A female dog, and anyway how do you know that curse word? It's Earthian."

"It may be Earthian, and Earth may be a backwater planet Zordan hid out on, but that doesn't mean my sister and I didn't look into it." He turned to regard his friend over the pile of bodies he dragging into the megalift. "Rita and Zedd were there and they were hardly on good term with me and my sister. We kept tabs on all of our enemies and allies. Naturally we learned things along the way. As for the cursing," he gave a cheeky grin, "I used 'damn' as a synonym for 'curse' and 'bastard' literally. As for Divatox being a bitch, well, she is. She's Dark Spectre's lapdog and the term for a female dog is a bitch. Correct vernacular, no censoring."

Zhane shook his head. "I'm not sure if I'm jealous or horrified."

"Both is good," Andros said.

Zhane smirked and followed his friend the rest of the way to the hanger bay to dispose of the bodies. He made sure not to mention how much it seemed like Andros had been acting as an ally, feeding him information of Dark Spectre's forces, instead of as an enemy. it warmed his heart and gave him hope. Maybe Andros could be saved. And if Andros could be saved, so could Astronema.


End file.
